Water Margin: Did we kill Zheng Tu today?

Chapter 110 Who is the hero?

The man stood at the doorway, looking at Zheng Tu with his hands clasped in front of him, and respectfully asked, "May I ask your honorable name, sir?"

Instead of answering, Zheng Tu asked, "And who are you?"

Seeing that Zheng Tu didn't answer but instead asked a question, ignoring his own words, Zhang Qing realized that his usual methods of building relationships and cultivating connections in the martial arts world were failing him, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.

Fortunately, he still had a way, so he wasn't angry. He just smiled and explained his background in detail:

"To tell you the truth, my name is Zhang Qing. I used to make a living by growing vegetables at Guangming Temple. But because of a trivial argument, I got angry and killed all the monks at Guangming Temple. I also set the temple on fire and burned it to the ground. After that, I had no enemies and no lawsuits came my way, so I started robbing people under this big tree slope."

He glanced at Zheng Tu's face, and seeing no change in expression, continued:

One day, an old man came by carrying a load on his shoulder pole. I took advantage of his age and rushed out to fight him. However, after fighting for more than twenty rounds, I was knocked to the ground by the old man's load on his shoulder pole.

It turns out that the old man was a highway robber when he was young, and he was the ancestor of all highway robbers. Seeing that I was agile, he took me back to the city, taught me many real skills, and then took my daughter as his son-in-law.

However, I am not used to living in this city, so I have to come back here to build some thatched huts and make a living by selling wine.

He simply waited for merchants to pass by, and if any caught his eye, he would give them some sleeping potion to knock them unconscious. He would cut large chunks of good meat into slices and sell them as beef, and use the smaller pieces as filling for steamed buns. Every day, the man would also take some to the village to sell, and that's how he made a living.

Because I like to make friends with heroes of the martial arts world, everyone calls me Zhang Qing the Vegetable Gardener.

He then pointed to Sun Erniang, who was chained in Zheng Tu's arms:

"My wife's surname is Sun. She inherited all of her father's skills, and everyone calls her 'She-Devil Sun Erniang.' Her father died three or four years ago. He was a famous figure in the martial arts world, known as 'Mountain Demon Sun Yuan.' I just returned and heard my wife calling out. Who would have thought I'd run into a hero!"

After saying that, Zhang Qing then told Sun Yuan, the mountain demon, about the "three no-kill" rules: no killing monks, no killing prostitutes, and no killing exiled criminals.

Tell Zheng Tu in detail:

"...Those who are exiled for the third-class crimes must not be killed, for many heroes are among them. Today, encountering a hero like yourself, I, in my foolishness, actually harbored such thoughts! I truly deserve to die!"

After raptly delivering these words, Zhang Qing felt somewhat at ease.

When encountering such a hero, the two sides would exchange names and titles, flatter each other, and bow down in respect, thus resolving any grudges.

The man in front of him seemed quite wary and refused to give his name, but after he had spoken so frankly, he figured he had become much closer to him.

After saying this, Zhang Qing bowed deeply and said, "My wife was blind and didn't recognize your greatness. She didn't know how she offended you. Please forgive her for my sake."

As the saying goes, "Soft words can quell anger, and humble words can subdue evil."

His words were impeccable, demonstrating his own martial prowess while simultaneously yielding to the man and invoking his father-in-law's name. If he were a fellow江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the martial arts world) member, he would surely have received some respect.

When both soft and hard tactics are used, even the most spirited hero will eventually realize the consequences.

The martial arts world is not just about fighting and killing, but about human relationships and social interactions.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone could put aside their grudges, sit down together, drink and chat happily?

Upon hearing this, Zheng Tu smiled slightly: "So, it seems the flood has washed away the Dragon King's temple; we don't recognize our own kind?"

Zhang Qing was overjoyed upon hearing this, nodding repeatedly and saying, "Exactly! That's right! A true hero indeed understands propriety!"

Hearing this from Zheng Tu's arms, Sun Erniang's face lit up with joy, thinking that she had escaped a calamity and was able to save her life today.

But at that moment, Zheng Tu shook his head and sighed, "It's just a pity... I'm not some kind of chivalrous hero."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qing's expression changed drastically, and he shouted urgently, "Wait—!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zheng Tu unleashed a powerful strike with his iron arms crossed.

There was a crisp "crack" sound.

Before the joy on Sun Erniang's face had faded, her head drooped limply.

Zheng Tu loosened his grip, and the body fell to the ground like a tattered sack, tilting to one side.

Zhang Qing's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, her eyes filled with disbelief and horror.

The two fat men, Xiao Er and Xiao San, stared blankly, not yet realizing what had happened.

Zheng Tu slowly opened his arms, took a deep breath, and a look of pleasure appeared on his face.

Zhang Qing trembled violently, his eyes wide with rage, and roared, "You...you bastard, how dare you...!"

Before he could finish speaking, he lunged at Zheng Tu, drawing a foot-long dagger from his waist with his right hand, and waving his left hand at the waiters and waitresses: "Chop these bastards up!"

The two fat men seemed to wake from a dream, their eyes reddening, and with a shout, they rushed forward.

....................................

A short while later.

Zheng Tu shook the blood dripping from his hands and shook his head.

Zhang Qing had learned a few tricks from that mountain demon Sun Yuan in the vegetable garden. Although he couldn't hurt himself, he still made a mess of things and ended up getting splattered with blood.

He looked around the messy tavern and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Ultimately, it was because I was too weak.

If my martial arts skills were a little better, I wouldn't have needed to waste so much effort and get my clothes all dirty to deal with these people.

With everything settled, it was time for the much-anticipated harvest.

Zheng Tu turned around and went to the back first.

After rummaging around and turning things upside down, he soon found several items.

A saddle-shaped iron ruler, a black robe, and a degree certificate.

Everything else is insignificant, but there are two items that appear to be extremely valuable:

One of them was a rosary made of 108 skull beads, each bead polished smooth and round, strung together with gold thread. It was cool to the touch, and no one knew what kind of bone it was.

The other item was two ring knives made of snowflake-colored wrought iron, with black scabbards, which looked quite extraordinary.

Zheng Tu picked up the pair of monk knives and drew one. The blade was long and narrow, with a bright, gleaming edge, and the natural patterns on the surface resembled layers of snowflakes.

He casually swung it a few times, and a clear, resonant whistling sound was heard, truly an extraordinary treasure!

"These must be the items that Zhang Qing and his wife gave to Wu Erlang in the book?"

Zheng Tu thought to himself.

Although he wouldn't need them for the time being, Zheng Tu still wrapped all his dry items, including the iron ruler, black robe, ordination certificate, and skull rosary, in cloth. He also wrapped the two snowflake iron knives in cloth strips and slung them diagonally across his waist, one on each side.

After searching carefully for a while, they found about ten taels of loose silver and some copper coins in a hidden compartment in the counter.

"It seems that Mr. and Mrs. Zhang haven't been open for business for a while," Zheng Tu said, weighing the silver in his hand. "No wonder their eyes lit up when they saw my travel money."

Before he could continue searching and organizing, he heard a sound coming from outside.